The front garden make-over is not complete. The planting is mostly done, but there are several other green and structural issues we have to address. You’ve seen the makeover of the inside of the house and the extreme measures we took to get the house looking exactly the way we wanted. As with everything ‘live’ the garden will evolve over time, but here are some of the things we’ve addressed so far.

The back garden will take a big longer because apart from planting, clearing up and designing, we had to find a suitable place for storage in a size which was 5 times smaller than the huge garden of our old house. Pictures and updates coming shortly.

Front garden make-over

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A few hyacinths badly in need of trimming, and a broken flower box were the only attractive things in the front garden. There were a couple of fir trees planted at the border between our house and next door’s. An old hanging basket, lined with an old shopping (plastic) bag hung from the rusty bracket which was put up outside the house some time ago.

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Here’s the front shot of the garden before planting began (and before the old windows were changed). The two white plant containers you see were brought from our old garden. They were placed there until we could find a place for them.

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After planting. The front garden now has growing shrubs outside the new front window. The window box had been rebuilt and the old hanging basket removed. The tall fir you see on the left was moved from the back garden. I simply dug it up and replanted it. It wasn’t suitable for the back, as the space we have back there is quite minimal. Here’s another article showing what you can do to achieve a great look with a small garden.

This is the view standing at the front window (behind the shrubs and plants I planted). You can see the bamboos and the now-thriving firs which were at the side of the garden when we moved. The bamboos have filled the gaps between the firs seen  in the first picture.

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This picture of the front garden was taken from across the road soon after we moved. The vans outside belonged to the builders who were doing major remodelling and building inside (and outside) of the house at the time.

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This is a picture taken after 4 weeks of planting. You’ll notice that there is a second fir on the right of the area at this point. Sadly, this one died during its first winter.

After the front garden make-over you can see how the ‘green’ has improved the look of the entire property. As the plants grow bigger, they’ll be trimmed into shapes and neatened up. All the plants are now twice as big as they were when first taken out of their pots and planted into the ground.

Another view of the front wall, taken from the front window.

What I did to achieve the front garden makeover (without spending)

1. I used plants I already had. I’d nursed some plants which I dug out from our old garden months before we moved house. These were planted outside the front window. I chose plants which were low-growing because of the security issue of having larger plants under your front window. You can read about landscaping DIY home security in this article.

2. I used one potted bamboo I had. Divided it into 6 small parts, and planted it alternately between the gaps in the firs. They’ve now almost filled up all the spaces.

3. I helped to remake the plant box. I use this to ‘house’ various seasonal plants during the year. I didn’t plant anything in the box itself because this would’ve meant I was limited to what I could use there. Instead, I’ve planted up two separate plastic plant pots (with different flowering plants) which are the right size to fit into the outer wooden box . I’m free to swap the plastic boxes round once they go out of season.

4. The front garden makeover wouldn’t be the same without a hanging basket. Unfortunately the flowers had already flowered when the latest pictures were taken.

What other tips have you got for a front garden make-over? Have you been able to achieve the look you wanted without spending too much? Please leave your tips in the comment boxes below. Thank you. 

If you have a much bigger garden or are planning a large scale re-landscaping project, it is a good idea to invest in some professional grade equipment http://www.scot-jcb.com/ have equipment for every construction need, making a month’s-long project achievable in a few short weeks.

You can also see more articles like this one on our exterior designs page.